Yesterday was my big test day. While I was in Japan, my New York State (provisional) teaching license expired. When I returned to New York after about a 6 year absence, I thought I would have no problem renewing my license, but “Oh, how wrong I was!”

Months of waiting, procrastinating, and playing run-around, I finally had my moment. And, because I am such a procrastinator, I will most likely be taking the 4 hour (with no break) examination again. Even though, I downloaded the study guide weeks ago, I barely studied it. I did manage to read through the guide at least once. Kind of a very bad example to set for the students I teach. Hopefully, none of them are reading this blog.

So how was the test? Well, to my surprise, I think that I might have passed (most likely with a score of 220[the minimum passing score]). It will be a bit embarrassed a month from now when I get my results (and I fail). I’ve told myself that if I do fail, I will study next time, and then, I will have a better idea of the test. Is there anyone reading this, believing this? No, I didn’t think so. Anyway back to the test day.

The day started of pretty relaxed, which surprised me. Having not studied, and knowing the difficulty I’ve been having getting my teaching license, I wasn’t the least bit nervous. Usually, I would be nervous in this situation (and stressed). I arrived at the testing site about 10 minutes before the doors were supposed to be opened (1pm). The test starting time was 2pm. The location of the test was at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The place was huge! The convention center is about 4 city blocks in size. The room of the teacher’s examination was about one city block (or about half a block).There were also at least 2 (possible more) other events taking place at the same time. The other events were a comic book convention and a travel convention. Originally, I thought that it was strange to have a teacher’s examination in a place with other events going on, but the convention center was actually a very good place. Inside the room, there were no distractions from the other events. The room itself was huge. I wish I could have taken pictures, but no electronic devices were allowed. All cell phones had to be collected. They (the testing administrators) really kept pushing for all cell phones to be turned it. Although I did turn in my cell phone, I am positive, most of the test takers (there must have been several hundreds test takers.

As I wrote above, the test was 4 hours long. But most of the test takers did not need the whole four hours, but those of us lazy procrastinators, we did use the whole 4 hours (without a lunch break). We needed to bring; two photo identifications that had our signature, the admission ticket, and of course, several No. 2 pencils. There were about 20 or 30 different teaching tests offered. I had to take the multi-subject test. As an elementary school teacher, the test was designed to test the testees knowledge of a variety of subjects. Once we were seated, our thumb prints were taken. The directions were read, and the test began.

Unlike student exams, the time was not divided for pacing purposes. I guess the testers felt that since we were teachers (or would be teachers), we should know how to pace ourselves. Once the test started, we could basically, start anywhere in the book, and return to any part of the book. Originally, I thought there were 150 questions because there were 150 answer spaces on the answer sheet, so I paced myself by setting the goal of finishing 75 questions by the 2 hour mark. Yes, I knew about the essay part. I thought the questions at the end would require less time to answer, leaving enough time for the 2 paragraph essay. My writing skills are poor, so I was not planning to spend any more time than was necessary. Once I reached about the 80th question, I noticed that the next page showed the directions for the writing portion of the test. It was then that I discovered that the test only had 90 questions. At this point, I had about an hour and a half remaining. It was at this point that I also started to get cramps. I think sitting for a long time, and not eating something since breakfast may have been the cause. I also started getting a little nervous.

The test seemed a little…not easy, but …for lack of a better word…reasonable. Some questions did seem easy. But, I started to worry that I (who is not the brightest person) should be struggling more with the major examination. One guy must have been stressed. He started yelling that there was too much noise going on (with people walking on the concrete floor, over the metal plates). I did find it a little noisy with the testing assistants walking back and forth, but not enough noisy to be distracting. I did find it a little annoying that the woman assigned to my area had heels on, even though the notice on the admission ticket said to wear "soft-heel shoes for the testees. I guess the suggestion did not apply to the testing assistants.

Back to the test. The only part I am positive I bombed on was the Math. Once the questions started asking about x and y axis, I was reduced to my old stand-by, “enni minni myni moe”.

I am really hoping the reason the test seemed… reasonable was me having about 10 years of teaching experience.

What about the essay part? Basically, we had to give our analysis of a students reading ability from the example given. Luckily, the example was almost identical to the example given in the study guide (the part I read on the train ride to the test). A paragraph of a short story was given with the anecdotal notes of the students mistakes, and a short dialog/transcript of the student talking about what he(she) understood about the story he(she) read. The test even gave the suggested areas of weaknesses. Basically, I did what I’ve always told my students to do, turn the question into your answer and pull out as much of the information from the data given to write the essay.

So, did I pass the test? Like I wrote above, I think I did. However, I won’t know the results until March 27th. If I failed the next test is April 8th with late registration between March 22nd and March 31st. The next tests after April are June 10th and July 22nd. Hopefully, I’ve done my share of test taking for my teaching license.

Hello Pen pal. Just a quick entry. After wasting the last few (vacation) days, I've finally added a little order to my shoebox. I still have a lot to do. I mainly put the big things where I wanted. However, I still have to organize the little things. Mostly, the little things are either in the closet, or stuffed into the wired cube storage unit (seen on the left of the photo).

Since the room is so, so very small, I bought a coffee table to use as my desk. I thought that the coffee table would make the room seem bigger than a regular sized desk.

Whatever happened to peace and quiet?

Just a quick addition to the prewritten entry that I am about the post. On the train ride here would you believe that a group of musicans (???) got on the train and started playing the drums. Then one of them walked the traincar looking for tips. Then, no sooner do they leave, a guy starts talking out loud to either himself or the entire traincar.

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February 21, 2006

Hello Pen pal. Just a brief recount of yesterday’s President’s Day holiday. My plan was to study for the teacher’s exam (coming this Saturday), then leave my shoebox to maybe do a little shopping (trying to make my shoebox look less like a shoebox.

The bickering couple were at it in force all morning, they continued arguing off and on. Finally, around 12 midday, I heard what I believed to be the finale; “But you broke up with me”. That statement was followed by sobs and packing. About 30 minutes later, “No, I ain’t cooking you dinner”. And…the sounds and smell of hamburgers being cooked. After listening to arguing all morning, I was in no mood to do anything. When I heard the front door closed, suddenly I felt a little better. Until…

My other neighbor (on my floor) begin blasting his stereo as loud as it could possible go. Apparently (he confided in me), he relaxes by listening to his music loud. I sort of accepted this fact, but what annoyed more was that a few minutes later…he fell asleep with the music blasting. So he was not even listening to the music. Later, he felt comfortable asking to borrow my cell phone. Told me that he ask a girl to call him back giving her my phone number. Later, after requesting my phone 4 or 5 more times, I receive a phone call from a young lady asking to speak to my neighbor. I take the phone to him telling him it is the young lady that he called earlier (worrying that she would not return his call). After he finished on the…on my phone, he tells me that the young lady was another one (not the one he was talking to me about). He then asks to use my phone again. Later he tells me that this girl is going to call him back on my phone, after she asks her mother’s permission about something (he is 44, she is 24). When I return to find out if the phone conversation finishes, he tells me that she is going to call him back again. He puts the phone in his pocket, and asks if the phone rings loudly. I wait to see how long he keeps my phone. After about an hour (of getting increasingly annoyed), I finally go to his room to find out what happened. It turned out, she did not return his call, but I now had 8 minutes left on my pre-paid phone.

Hello Pen Pal. Back at my local internet cafe. So, what is the update about my current living situation. The Bickering neigbors continue. I caught a cold. I have the teacher's examination next week, but I continue to procrastinate about studying.

My neighbors continue the arguing, and shouting. Now, I am just getting annoyed. Original, I thought the situation was basically a woman in distress. But now, I am beginning to get the impression that it's babies being bad. They just seem like a really immature couple of kids playing grown-up. Having spoken to the young lady (on another matter), she referred to her boyfriend as her husband. "Oh, my husband handles the rent, or any contact with the (apartment) manager. He (the manager) don't know me like that." Then about a day later, someone stops by lookin for "G" and his girlfriend. My other neighbor also referred to "A" as being the girlfriend. Also, my other neighbor told me that "A" is only 18 years old.

Since my last blog entry, I decided that I would handle the arguments (and the fighting), by giving them an audience. Yesterday, when the "don't put your hands on me" started in the hallway, instead of pretending like I couldn't hear, I just opened my door to watch. The fight ended before it started. Will it always work that way, unfortunately no.

Now that I have gone to active listening, now I am hearing things I wish I did not hear. Basically, the girl is just loud. Nice, but loud. When they are having sex, she is very verbal. Yesterday, when I dosed off, I heard screams, and jumped out of bed, only to discover that they were just having sex. It could just be me, but that young lady sounded incredibly fake. Since I don't have a lot of experience in that department, I could be mistaken. Would you believe that in the past two days, the couple had sex each day, and about 30 minutes later, they were arguing each day.

Anyway, the young lady is loud when she is having sex; she is loud when they are arguing; she is loud when she is happy (or cheering). She is just loud. Now, the young lady being loud of course does not excuse the guy's behavior. According to my other neighbor, the guy is about 23 yrs. old and has multiple girlfriends. And again (according to my other neighbor), she does know about them). However, he said that she is in love.

I could be wrong, but it seems like the couple just seems to get a kick (no pun intended) out of playing like an adult married couple, but neither seems to show any of the maturity for a serious relationship.

I think I've spent enough time wasting my internet hours writing about my neighbors. Now, I am going to do a little bit of shopping for my shoe box.

Ja mata...

Hello Pen pal. Just a brief entry. This morning, my neigbor and her boyfriend were arguing again. I thought it was just another example of ghetto life. Unfortunately, I think it has become something more. This morning, my other neighbor (the one who asked for the letter of reference) told me that the young lady and her boyfriend have actually been fighting a long time ago, only now (according to him)it seems to be getting worst. To be honest, I really did not want to hear that. Up until yesterday, I was getting used to what I believed was just a couple of immature 20 somethings arguing. Pretending that I could not really hear what was going on, made me feel safe to ignore what I could barely hear (not including the shouting), but now knowing that there is ...something more going on. I now feel like I have to stop ignoring the arguments. What will I do? I have no idea! However, now that I know a little more, I no longer feel comfortable pretending I can't hear. A part of me believes that pretending that we can't hear, will only encourage more of the "arguing" to continue.

I wonder if the young lady (knowing that there are two men on the floor) has been purposely shouting hoping the "men" would do something.

Sometimes, being a man stucks!!!!

Oh, not the best time to add this, but I will attach one of my 116 photos of Washington DC to a previous blog entry.

February 15, 2006

Hello Pen Pal. How about another trip through the ghetto life? Yesterday I was feeling a little depressed about returning to the “salt mine”, but today was actually a relatively nice work day. I subbed for a cluster/prep teacher; the teacher’s last period was chess club. Since the chess club had not been formed yet, it was a free period for me. And on top of that, today was a early dismissal. I still stayed after school to finish grading the assignments that I gave the students today. I am one of those people who if I don’t grade an assignment soon, then I will usually procrastinate. Even though I stayed after to grade the assignments, I still was able to leave at 3:15 (that’s early for me).

Since I was out early, I decided to go to the neighborhood hospital I visited back in September 2005 (see previous blog entries). Last week, I received a “final” bill for that visit. Problem?

I never received any other bills or notices.
The bill was for $888.13 dollars.

The first problem. When I went to the hospital, the first thing I did was to ask for the bill then and there. I wanted to pay the bill while I had the money. However, I was told that the bill had not been put into the computer system, and I would be contacted when the bill was made. From that time, I had not hear anything from the hospital. That was about 5 months ago. I’d forgotten all about the hospital visit.

The second problem. I was given an estimated bill for $375.00. How can an estimation be so off.

I go the lobby and wait on the customer line. Why did I think it was a customer line? Above the window was a sign that said “customer line”. Once I arrived at the window, the woman told me that I was at the wrong window; I should go to the 2nd or 3rd floor. I ask which one, and I was told “either one”.

On the second floor, the guy at the computer tries to explain why my bill is correct. “Because I had a lot of tests” including a couple even he did not know what the acronyms meant. I explained that I never received an itemized bill. His response, “oh, we don’t give those. The information on the screen is just for billing purposes only.” But, if I what a copy, he would give me a copy. He went on to explain that the original bill was for the visit alone. I responded that no where on his screen does it show the $375 dollars. His response was that instead of arguing, I should listen the program the city has for individuals that can’t pay (those without insurance). I bring in documents that show proof of income and address, and then I will be charged “what I can afford to pay”. If the “afford to pay” is less than the original “estimated” bill, then I will be happy.

After leaving the hospital, needless to say, I was not in a good mood. And, no sooner am I in the subway station, I am sitting next to another “ghetto” experience waiting for the train. A mother and her daughter are sitting next to me. The mother is eating crabs and throwing the crab shells on the station floor. While this is going on, a plain-clothes police officer stops a man and asks for identification. Since we are a few feet away, we don’t know why the officer is asking for the ID. The mother is shouting to the man, “did he (the officer) apologize”. The daughter tells the mother to “mind your f**king business”. Even before that exchange I can over hear the conversation between mother and daughter. The daughter is using curse (and derogatory) words that would have gotten my teeth knocked out if I uttered those same words within a mile of my mother.

After the man puts his ID away, the mother starts trying to ask him questions, but he has put his headphones back on, so he can’t hear her. The daughter is still admonishing the mother, “why can’t you mind your f**king business”. But, the mother has turned her attention to the plain-clothes police officer, calling out “officer”, “officer” trying to see if the man (who was most liking a cop) would reply. However, he just ignored her.

I arrived at my shoe box; and guess what? My neighbor (and her boyfriend) are having another “ghetto” argument. Loud and profane. I think that in another couple of years, the “F” word will probably replace “the” as the most used word in the English language. Question. Is calling someone a “stupid f**king ho” a term of endearment? I think the boyfriend is going for some kind of record (I think this is the second night [in a row]. Or is it the girlfriend who is trying for a record?

After the first argument round ends, the upstairs neighbor turns on his (or her) stereo full-blast. I really, really can’t see how someone can put on music so loud that the walls and floors are vibrating, and then sit (or stand) in the middle of it.

Now in between the shouting and the wall-shaking booming sounds, I have a headache and my stress pains (that’s what I am calling them) chest pains have returned.

Also, having spent over an hour typing this, it is now too late for me to get on my rowing machine. Oh, I almost forgot, part of my typing time was typing a letter of recommendation for the other neighbor on my floor. Having spoken to him 3 (or maybe 4) times, he asked me yesterday for a letter of recommendation.

Hello Pen Pal. Well, I have returned to the ghetto. Lucky me. I returned to New York yesterday. The bus ride was okay. Even though every seat was taken, it was still a pleasant ride. I took the 8:00am bus which left at 8:40am. Only ticket holders with Sunday tickets could get on. Remember, there was a snowstorm.

I arrived in New York at 1:40 (approx.). The first thing I did was to go to the bank to exchange my 5,000 yen bill. Because of the exchange rate (and exchange fee), I only received about $34 dollars. I arrived at my shoebox about an hour later. Another hour later the young lady living on my floor (with her boyfriend) had a big, argument. One of those loud, "oh god, will I need to call the police" kind of fights. While I sat in my room hoping the argument would end, my other neighbor (there are 3 rooms per floor) had another way of dealing with the loud screaming (mostly from the young lady)...He turned his stereo up full-blast. Although my walls were vibrating, and my teeth were shaking, it did the trick. The argument stopped. But, started when the music stopped. So, my neighbor left it on for another couple of hours.

This morning, I was supposed the return to subbing, but I just was not in the mood. If I was a full-time teacher, then I would have went to work, but since I'm not, I did not. Then, around 10am this morning, my upstairs neighbor turned his (or her) stereo full-blast. And the music was on until I left around 2pm. Another comment about my neighbor. I bought cheap dollar store strainers for the drains in the kitchen sink and the bathtub. But looking at the crap the strainers catch, my neighbor has decided to take out the strainers. Now, both the kitchen sink and the bathtub are running slow. People have a bad habit of ignoring minor problems until the minor problems become big problems. Am I really being unrealistic to think cleaning out a strainer is better than trying to unclog a drain. To make matters worst, my neighbor seems to look at the drains as garbage disposals; if it is small enough to go down the drain, then let it go down the drain (including a matchstick).

More of the ghetto life...

On the train ride here, a couple of girls got on the train. They were (as the saying goes) "straight up ghetto". They were loud and very vulgar. Every other word out of those young lady's mouths were curse words, or loud vulgar comments. Then, one decides out loud that she is going to get a boyfriend (today is Valentine's Day), so she takes a few steps to the middle of the train car and just starts staring at the men around her (including me). Now being the troll that I am, of course I get the comments, and the laugher. The "oh my god this..." and the "I can't believe that...".

My life sometimes sucks!

Trapped!!! (Part 2)

After my last entry, I expected a relaxing (stress-free) finally evening...When will I ever learn.

After eating (Chinese take-out), I decided to spend the last evening watching my handheld little TV in my room. To be sure that my television watching experience was not interrupted, I went out to buy some batteries. After arriving at the closest convenient store (about a 10 minute walk away). The place was closed! One of the clerks recommended another 24 hour place. Returning to the hostel, I return to my room and notice that another person has his(???) things on the bed above mine. Background information.

Because of the snowstorm, I had to reserve another night. I thought that I would be able to keep my same room (same bed), but I was incorrect. The morning desk clerk gave me another bed in the same room. I was told to move my things to that bed. Problem. The cleaning staff made all of the other beds but the bed with my things under it. I noticed that junk had been left by previous tennants (beer bottles, uneaten food, and clothes). I moved the junk to the door. I waited for the room cleaner to return to ask that she leave clean sheets for me. I made my bed and thought that would be the end.

This evening, after returning from the "battery run", I return to the room to discover that another person things...I wrote this part. Anyway, in a room with 8 beds, I felt it was strange for the only 2 people to be sharing a bunk bed. I thought I could just ask the desk clerk for one of the other empty beds. The clerk informs me that the beds had all been reserved. I told him that the beds were available (I thought I knew because I was the one who cleaned the room of the junk). Anyway, the clerk assigned me another room. I was annoyed that I would have to move.

Anyway, I went (so I thought) from a room with one other person to a room with 4 other people one floor up. And...another top bunk to boot! The bathroom ...there is a short story with the bathroom, but my time is about the expire. Anyway, if things could not go from bad to worst, I woke up (in another room without heat). In the previous room, one of the other people liked the room cool. This time, I don't think anyone bothered with the heat.

Anyway, I woke up about 1:30 headache, running nose etc... Since I was in a room full of people, who I did not want to disturb, I left the room. Since I have a 5 hour bus ride coming up in a few hours, I decided to go to the 24 hour convenient store to buy some cough medicine. And now, here I am killing time, waiting for the sun to come up so I can get out of here.

Once again, I did not quit while I was ahead.

About the other room. Since I still had the card key, I went to check. Yes, not the smartest thing to do. I was so sure that I was correct and the desk clerk was wrong. I also thought that the room would have heat. And...to no surprise, I was incorrect. There were now people in the room.

Hello again. Just a brief entry. This morning, I was a little upset about being stranded here in Washington DC, but after a long walk, I am feeling better. I realized that it won't be too bad to return to my NYC life a day later. Today I was able to return to a couple of places to take some more photos. I was planning to walk a different path today, but of course, I ended up getting lost (returning to the Congress building). After walking about 3 or 4 hours, I decided to get some Chinese food. The walk to China Town added another 20 or 30 minutes to my day of walking.

Well, hopefully I will be able to return to New York tomorrow.

Trapped!!!

I am trapped in Washington DC. The eastcoast of the US had a snowstorm last night. I was suppose to take a bus back to New York City, but the bus company has cancelled all bus trips to New York.

I had to purchase another night here at this youth hostel. The cost was $32 dollars for one night. Unfortunately, I now have only $30 dollars in my wallet. Oh, and my emergency 5,000 yen. In Japan, I tried to carry an extra 5, 000 yen bill in my wallet for emergency, I had forgotten about it until I needed to show my ID. I always kept the bill hided behind my ID (so I wouldn't be tempted to spend it). When I first arrived here at the hostel, they forgot to ask me for ID (they also forgot to give me my free breakfast tickets, but that's minor). I wonder if seeing the 5,000 yen bill is an omen that I've hit rock bottom.

Well, since I am here in Washington DC another day, I will try to make the most of it. I'll see if I can walk around a little.

Now, I've spent enough time on this computer, so I'll end this entry for now.

Hello Pen pal. Well, I just returned from the job interview. I traveled all this way just for a 30 minute interview. Luckily, my motivation was also visiting Washington DC for the first time. Over-all, I would have to say that I am glad that I came to Washington DC.

So, how was the interview. I guess it was okay. I won't know the results (if any) until around the month of May. I arrived about 45 minutes early. There was a woman giving background information about the hiring process and the benefits. Individuals were called into a larger room, where we were interviewed by a representative. I was interviewed by the representative of the European district. Actually, I wanted to be interviewed by the Pacific representative. I would like to return to Japan. Last time, I was just assigned to Japan. Now, I am hoping to return.

As for the interview itself. There really isn't anything special to report. There were just the standard interview questions. And after 30 minutes, the interview was over.

So what now. There is talk of a major snow storm coming. A couple of people said that there could be 8 to 14 inches of snow. I was planning to take the 5:00pm bus back to New York City, but now, I am going to try to take the 11:00am bus.

Well, until next time...

9:26am Feb. 10, 2006
Hello again. Well, just to be brief. I'll do what I do best. Complain.

So, how was my first day in Washington DC. Well, actually, this is only morning (at the time of this writing). After taking my things into the bathroom, and returning home, the room card did not work (again). I also had to go downstairs to the lobby.

Sorry, I have to save my brief entry in the draft folder, the cleaning crew has started cleaning, and it doesn't seem to be bothering them that I am sitting here. They seem perfectly comfortable cleaning around me.



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7:58pm Feb. 10, 2006
I am back. Today has turned out a little better than I thought it would. When I started this entry, I was a little annoyed that things seem to not be going my way. A little summary of my morning.

My card key for the room door would not open, so I rode the elevator down to the lobby, but the elevator got stuck (with me on it) for about 5 minutes.

To start my walking adventure, I bought a unlimited Metro card. That turned out to be waste of money. For me the best way to explore is to just walk. I really did not think about the size of DC. I had this image in my mind of a transit system a little similar to New York. If I am not mistaken, most of the major monuments here in Washington DC are in about a one or two mile radius. I was easily able to walk (with a blister on the bottom of my foot) from Congress to the Washington Monument. Unfortunately, my camera battery started to die as I made my walk around the perimeter of the Congress building. That put me in a bad mood. Also, being alone made the walk a little less than exciting. Taking photos by myself is difficult when I am by myself. example

I ask a guy with his girlfriend (or wife) to take my photo. I'd mentioned that the battery was low, so could he just take the photo. I assumed that since he had a digital camera, he would have some idea how to take a digital photo. I was wrong.

When I first ask for the photo to be taken, he is asking me questions about the location of the Washington Monument, the position of the camera etc... I just politely remind him that the battery is low, and to just take the photo. He aims. He pushes the button. He then says, "oh, something's wrong". He pushed the off button. I show him (again) it's the big button, not the small button. And, I remind him that the battery is very low. Again, he is asking about the position of the camera, and commenting that there are people in the background. I just ask him to please take the photo. He does. I thank him. I walk away. I find...no photo. Either he pushed the off button again, or the battery was too low. I started mopping around, until I realized that I could just return to the Youth Hostel and recharge the battery. I also realized that the battery is about 4 years old, and it is long over-due to be replaced.

Since it was only about 12pm, I thought I could have lunch, write a blog entry, make copies of my interview documents, and kill I a couple of hours. Well, I started with the blog entry. Unfortunately, the computer froze and ate up about half of my time. That's where the bad luck ended. After making me wait for a long time, the hostel ended up giving me an extra 20 minutes compensation...which I am using right now.

This afternoon, I ate lunch at MacDonald's. I continued my walk around the area monuments. For dinner, I bought a small soup and a sandwich from Subway's Sandwich Shop. In total, I took about 65 photos.

So what do I think about DC. It is okay. I was a little annoyed that there were not (at least not in the neighborhood I am in) small shops or convenient store.

Well, I have to go. I used up my 20 minutes bonus, and I added another 20 minutes. I am about the use up half of my 20 minutes. This entry is about 50 minutes of computer time. I hope it did not bore you too much. Now, I have to get ready for tomorrow. I have my "make or break" job interview. Ja mata...

Hello Pen pal. Just a brief (very brief) entry. I am using one of the computers at the Youth Hostel here in Washington DC. I arrived by bus around 10pm. Since the cost of using this computer is $1.00 for 10 minutes, this will be very short.

The bus ride was very pleasant; it brought back memories of the bus trips that I took while I was in Japan. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to get an early start. I am going to try to see a few monuments here in the Washington area. I will buy an unlimited DC metro card and see if I can get my money's worth.

Well, after checking my e-mail accounts, and writing this blog entry, my time is almost up. Until next time...

Hello Pen pal. Just a quick entry. I just spent about a couple of hours here at the local internet cafe. I was just about to leave when I thought that I should do a brief entry. Tomorrow, if everything goes well, I will be going to Washington DC. Unfortunately, I will have very, very little money. In a previous blog, I mentioned that a payroll secretary did not submit my pay information on time, so I did not receive my salary. I was lucky to have been able to get an emergency loan about 60% of the expected amount due.

I wanted to buy a suit to wear to the interview. My other two suits were old and worn, so I decided to leave them in Japan (mistakenly believing that I would be working full-time by now, and be able to afford a new suit). Now, I will be lucky if I will be able to buy food. I am traveling on the poverty tour. A discount bus to a youth hostel for my very first trip to Washington DC.

I'll write a little more about my trip to Washington DC when I return, but now I am tired. I had a very rough day today. I was given a very wild class today. What I found surprising was that this class was wilder than (or seemed wilder than) the other third grade class that has two full time teachers assigned to team-teach. Strange.

Hello Pen pal,

Just a brief entry before I leave this internet cafe. Since I am on the clock, this will be brief.

Well, last week I was getting adjusted to living in my shoe box. Last Wednesday, my futon arrived; I finally got around to puting it together today. I can't believe they charged me a $40 delivery fee for what was basically a 5 minute drive to deliver a single box and the mattress.

I also did a little bit of cleaning. One of the benefits to living in a shoe box is that it does not take long to clean. Last night, I throw out the old mattress and the white mini dresser. What a pain when you live alone. However, it is very nice being a man. Although the Queen-sized mattress and the solid wood mini dresser were both heavy, I did manage to carry both items to the curb for sanitation pick up. The mini dresser was so heavy that I had to take the draws out. You would not believe a dresser that small could be so heavy.

What would this blog be if I did not have something to complain about. Since I am on the clock, my complaints will be brief.

The woman who lives on my floor loves to blast her stereo loud. I am talking about head punding, teeth chattering, wall vibratingly loud. She also finally got around to cleaning the pile of dirty dishes that have been sitting in the sink.

There was a very loud "oh my god, why did I move here" woman shouting at her boyfriend argument going on this morning. It had all the makings of a ghetto argument: a woman shouting histerically, a crying kid, and explicatives flowing like lava from a volcano. Sorry, I am not much of a writer.

Now, I am on my way to pick up a few things from my foster father's place.

February 1, 2006

I just attached a photo of my shoe box (see the previous entry).

This morning (since I did not reach the bathroom by 6am), I had to wait for one of my housemates (and his girlfriend) to shower. I ended up making it to school on time with one minute to spare.

Today I was assigned to cover a ¾ bridge class. The two teachers – yes, I did say two teachers. Not a teacher and an assistant, but two teachers. They had some kind of meeting to go to, so I was given their class. Even though they were both in school, neither had time to give me pertinent information about the class. There was no schedule. I was just told that the class was wild—and they like to fight. Long story short, the day was not really any different than any other day.

After I cleaned up the classroom, graded the assignments that I gave the students, I went to the regional office to pick up my emergency check. Since the payroll secretary missed the deadline for submitting the payroll information, any teacher information (including mine) not submitted would not receive a salary for that pay period. However, luckily I can request an emergency check (which is 60% of the total salary for that pay period). I am satisfied. I have enough money (I hope) to pay the teacher testing fee, the travel expenses to Washington DC, hotel expenses, and the cost of a new suit.

That is about it for now. Until next time…